1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an automatic film processor for passing an exposed film successively through developing, fixing and drying stations to effect automatic development of the film. More particularly, it relates to an automatic film processor in which an ultrasonic wave generator is assembled to effect more uniform processing at higher speed.
2. Prior Art Statement
The known automatic film processors for the automatic development of an exposed film includes roller conveyer type, loop type and horizontal conveying type. The roller conveyer type processor has a number of rollers for passing the film through deep vessels of respective treating stations, and thus has a disadvantage that the entire system becomes large in size due to the use of deep vessels containing the treating liquids and disposed in respective treating stations. In the loop type processor, the film is conveyed by rollers disposed above and below each of the treating liquid vesesl. The disadvantages of this type processor are similar to those of the roller type processor in that the size of the entire system becomes large and the construction thereof is complicated. In the horizontal conveying type processor, the film is conveyed linearly along a horizontal pass and treating liquids are sprayed onto the conveyed film. However, in order to complete the treatment in each treating station at a high speed, the film must contact with each treating liquid by a long pass along the horizontal direction, which results in increase of the size of the system.
On the other hand, each treating liquid is fatigued to be degraded as it is used. As a result, there arises a problem that the quality and the density of the developed film are affected by the fatigue or degradation of the treating liquids due to changes in performance characteristics of respective treatment, leading to difficulty for effecting uniform treatments. Particularly, the developer liquid is apt to be deteriorated by oxidation or other causes and the temperature thereof is also apt to change depending on the change in use condition, leading to detrimental fluctuation in density of the developed image and leading to unevenness of the developed image.
There is another problem that the moving speed of the film passing through any one of the treating stations is varied due to change in resistance in the pass or other causes. The density of the developed image might be changed by such a variation in moving speed of the film to result in uneven quality of the developed film.